April 11th: On this day1956, Travelling from Amarillo to Nashville, the plane that Elvis Presley was flying on developed engine trouble and was forced to make an emergency landing. The incident created a fear of flying for Presley.
1961, Bob Dylan played his first live gig in New York City at Gerde’s Folk City, opening for John Lee Hooker.
1963, Gerry and the Pacemakers were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘How Do You Do It” The group’s first of three UK No.1’s.
1964, The Beatles set a new chart record when they had 14 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. The songs ranged from ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ at No.1 to ‘Love Me Do’ at No. 81.
1965, Performing at the New Musical Express poll winners concert, at London’s Wembley Empire Pool, England, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Tom Jones, Freddie and the Dreamers, The Animals, The Kinks, Herman’s Hermits, Moody Blues, Them, Cilla Black, The Seekers and Donovan.
1966, Buffalo Springfield made their live debut at The Troubadour in Hollywood, California. The folk rock band are renowned both for their music and as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Buffalo Springfield were among the first wave of North American bands to become popular in the wake of the British invasion.
1970, Peter Green quit Fleetwood Mac while on tour in Germany, to avoid breach of contract he agreed to finish the current tour.
1970, The Beatles started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Let It Be’. It became the group’s 19th US No.1 in 6 years. The track was a No.2 hit in the UK.
1973, The Beach Boys appeared at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, Georgia. The Beach Boys were at a very low ebb in popularity in America and this show proved a financial disaster for the promoter, with less than 3,000 tickets sold for the 16,000 capacity venue. Opening act was Mothers Finest and middle of the bill was Bruce Springsteen who played a 60-minute set. Elvis Presley performed twice in the Omni and a plaque was placed on an interior wall to that effect after his death.
1977, Alice Cooper played to an audience of 40,000 in Sydney, Australia, the largest crowd to attend a rock concert in the country’s history. After the show Cooper was placed under house arrest at his hotel until he posted a bond for $59,632. That amount was the sum that a promoter claimed to have paid Cooper for a 1975 Australia tour he never made. The two settled when it was found that the promoter did not fulfill his part of the agreement either.
1981, Eddie Van Halen married actress Valerie Bertinelli, co-star of the 1980s television hit, One Day at a Time. The two had met eight months earlier when Bertinelli’s brother took her to a Van Halen concert in Shreveport, Louisiana.
1994, Oasis released their first single ‘Supersonic’ which peaked at No.31 on the UK charts. However, over time it has amassed sales of over 215,000, making it their 13th biggest selling single ever in the UK. ‘Supersonic’ was also the band’s first single to chart in the United States, where it peaked at No. 11 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
2001, Robbie Williams raised £165,000 at a charity auction with the money going to his old school in Stoke to build a performing arts block. The items sold were Robbie’s personal possessions, including a toilet from a stage show, a Union Jack bikini, Tiger’s head briefs, a Millennium jet pack and the hand written lyrics to ‘Angels’ which sold for £27,000.
2006, A member of Eminem’s rap collective D12 was killed in a nightclub shooting in Detroit after an argument broke out at the CCC nightclub. Proof, (real name Deshaun Holton), was shot at a club on Eight Mile Road, made famous in Eminem’s autobiographical film 8 Mile. Holton was a longtime friend of Eminem and was the rappers best man at his wedding in January of this year.
2006, June Pointer, the youngest of the four Pointer Sisters who went from teenage Gospel singers to the top of the Pop charts with such hits as ‘Fire’, ‘Slow Hand’ and ‘I’m So Excited’, died of cancer at the age of 52.
2013, Malawi accused Madonna of “bullying state officials” after she reportedly complained about her treatment on a visit to the country. Madonna – who has adopted two Malawian-born children had recently visited 10 primary schools funded by her charity. Madonna’s manager accused Malawi’s government of having a “grudge” against the singer’s charity, Raising Malawi.
2014, Nirvana were enlisted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside the likes of KISS and Beatles manager Brian Epstein. REM’s Michael Stipe inducted the group, saying: “Nirvana tapped into a voice that was yearning to be heard. Nirvana were kicking against the mainstream. They spoke truth and a lot of people listened.”
2014, American musician and songwriter Jesse Winchester died aged 69. To avoid the Vietnam War draft he moved to Canada in 1967, where he began his career as a solo artist. His best known songs include “Yankee Lady”, “The Brand New Tennessee Waltz”, “Mississippi, You’re on My Mind”, “A Showman’s Life”, and “Biloxi”.
2017, J Geils, American guitarist, with The J. Geils Band died aged 71. With the J. Geils Band he had the 1982 US No.1 & UK No.3 single ‘Centerfold’, which was taken from their US No.1 1981 album Freeze Frame.
2017, British musician Toby Smith died aged 46. He was most famous for being the keyboardist and co-songwriter for Jamiroquai from 1992 until his departure in 2002. He was music producer and manager for The Hoosiers and in 2013, Smith co-produced Matt Cardle’s third album Porcelain.